Dresser-Rand workers, Scouts send care packages to troops

Thursday

Oct 10, 2013 at 6:58 PM

Some local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts recently pitched in to help employees at Dresser-Rand send a giant care package to a coworker who's serving overseas in the military - along with about 200 of his fellow soldiers.

Derrick Ekek@the-leader.com

PAINTED POST | Some local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts recently pitched in to help employees at Dresser-Rand send a giant care package to a coworker who's serving overseas in the military - along with about 200 of his fellow soldiers.

It all started when Peter Reif, a senior project development engineer at Dresser-Rand, sent an email to a coworker who's an Army reservist and was called to active duty, and is currently stationed at Kandahar Air Force Base in Afghanistan.

Reif asked the coworker if his unit needed anything, and got a reply with a list of snacks and personal hygiene items.

Throughout September, a collection drive was held at Dresser-Rand, and Boy Scout Troop 79 of Gang Mills and Cub Scout Pack 129 of Painted Post also pitched in with donations, Reif said.

"We were hoping to collect enough to one or two boxes, but the response from the community, the employees here, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts was tremendous," Reif said.

In all, they filled 10 boxes with approximately 1,100 items that weighed 465 pounds.